The present invention is to a method and apparatus for providing a portable preassembled grill. More particularly, the invention is drawn to providing a grill having two pairs of pivoting legs which collapse and have wheels at one end. The portable preassembled grill is configured for easy shipping, consumer handling, and storage by the consumer, but assembles without tools. The portable preassembled grill of the present invention provides the benefits of portability and storability for consumers.
Outdoor barbecue cooking continues to grow in popularity despite certain difficulties and inconveniences. An initial difficulty for consumers can be getting the grill home. Preassembled grills can be very bulky and difficult to transport at both the wholesale and consumer level. To address this, many grills are shipped unassembled or partially assembled. Although this solves part of the shipping problems, it causes other problems. If a consumer purchases a grill unassembled, the consumer can get the grill home, but then needs to perform the assembly.
If the consumer is not handy, assembly can often present insurmountable problems. Often, these people will therefore purchase assembled grills and then be confronted with the aforementioned transport problem. Sometimes these people will attempt to assemble the grill on their own, but discover they lack the required tools. If they have the tools, they may assemble the grill improperly, which can be especially dangerous with gas grills. If, perchance, they have the required tools and assemble it properly, it will usually take quite a bit of time and aggravation, and will delay grilling.
Handy consumers can usually assemble a grill properly, but are delayed from grilling during the assembly time.
Another difficulty faced by consumers is that outdoor barbecue cooking has increasingly expanded from the back yard to locations such as tailgate parties, beach outings, picnic outings, etc. that require the consumer to bring the grill with them. Although many portable grills exist, most have unacceptably small grilling surfaces, can be inconveniently short when in use because they lack full-sized legs, and/or can leave a mess in the consumer""s vehicle.
All consumers must deal with the problem of grill storage. Although many grills fold for storage, most have only one or two of the common storage modes of (i) folding flat for prone storage, (ii) folding flat to hang on a wall, or (iii) folding flat and standing to lean against a wall.
And as a final difficulty, even those with room on their deck or in their backyard must deal with protecting their grills from the elements.
To address many of these problems, some consumers have opted for preassembled, portable camping or picnic-type grilling devices, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,273,840, 1,309,049, 2,597,477, 3,025,849, 3,611,912, 4,334,516, 4,621,608, 4,706,817, 5,105,726, 5,174,197, 5,317,961, 5,423,308, 5,605,142, and 5,947,007 that use non-intersecting pivotally legs, or U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,515,521, 5,836,295, or 5,906,196 that use non-intersecting detachable or telescoping legs, or U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,447,530, 4,026,266, or 4,488,535 that can use intersecting legs. Although these grills will typically solve at least some of the transport, assembly and storage problems, they also will typically lack the functionality of a full-sized grill and can be bulky or difficult to handle when transporting from a vehicle to a cooking site.
A few full-sized grills have addressed these problems. U.S. Pat. No. 3,200,806 uses a relatively less stable three-leg arrangement wherein a pair of pivotally attached legs are themselves pivotally attached to an intersecting third leg, which is itself detachably connected to the grill body. The grill lacks means to prevent accidentally folding and the grill cannot be stored in a folded/standing position.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,452,736 discloses a knock-down type grill with separate legs and bowl (grill body).
U.S. Pat. No. 3,556,076 discloses a folding grill with crossed legs and wheels, wherein one pair of legs is pivotally attached to the grill body and pivotally fixed to the other pair of legs which are detachable from the grill body. The grill lacks means to prevent accidentally folding and the crossed-leg arrangement when folded is not the most compact (see FIG. 5 of the patent).
U.S. Pat. No. 4,210,118 discloses a system similar to U.S. Pat. No. 3,556,076 in which the legs are pivotally connected by an off-center link pin that xe2x80x9callows close collapsing of the legs in the folded condition. xe2x80x9d The tops of both sets of legs are pivotally connected to the grill, but an over-center link allows one set to partially swing away. It is unclear whether the grill can be hung-up or leaned against a wall for storage.
Commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,163,414 discloses a system similar to U.S. Pat. No. 3,556,076 with a snap-in cooking grill that stays in place when folded. It lacks wheels for transport and has no means for hanging-type storage.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,318,322 discloses a system similar to U.S. Pat. No. 3,556,076 in which the legs are pivotally connected. One pair releases at the top to fold into a crossed-leg arrangement. Again, there appears to be no means to prevent accidentally folding and the grill cannot be stored in a folded/standing position.
It is an object of the invention to provide a portable preassembled grill that can be shipped and stored in a collapsed condition.
It is an object of the invention to provide a portable preassembled grill that can be transported in a collapsed condition.
It is an object of the invention to provide a portable preassembled grill with wheels and handles that can be easily moved in a collapsed condition.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a portable preassembled grill that can be erected very quickly without tools.
It is another object of the invention to provide a portable preassembled grill that cannot accidentally collapse after erection.
It is another object of the invention to provide a portable preassembled grill that is adapted for storage or display by hanging from a hook or the like.
It is another object of the invention to provide a portable preassembled grill that can be hung when collapsed from hooks of different sizes.
It is another object of the invention to provide a portable preassembled grill that can be stored when collapsed by standing it on a leg protrusion and leaning it against a wall.
It is another object of the invention to provide a portable preassembled grill that includes a hinged lid and means for retaining the grilling surface to accommodate storage.
It is another object of the invention to provide a portable preassembled grill that includes means to secure a lid to the grill body and means to secure the legs to the grill body to accommodate storage.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a portable preassembled grill that can be easily stored inside a bag.